College roommates AU
by Hiraethys
Summary: Cass takes dance, focusing on ballet, and Tim takes photography. They still go out at night as Black Bat and Red Robin, but they also co-habit this tiny flat. A flat that has Cass's ballet shoes and leotards left slung over chairs and on tables, and Tim's photo's strung on clothes lines throughout the living areas. Chapters are not in chronological order
1. Chapter 1

The wind whipped at Red Robin's cape, and he grabbed it angrily and held it down, lest it inadvertently gave away his position.

"You applied for college?" comes through Tim's comm-link. They are meant to be staking out a warehouse not enjoying idle chit-chat. Tim glances at Dick, who's three rooftops away, through his binoculars. Dick waves at him, and Batman shouldn't be allowed to look so cheerful in Tim's opinion. It was highly disconcerting.

"Yes" he answers, turning his binoculars back to the warehouse once more.

"To study photography?"

Tim sighs "Yes"

"Huh"

There was silence over the comm's for a few minutes before Dick pipes up again.

"I heard Cass was applying too. Maybe you could room together"

* * *

"I didn't know you were interested in Ballet" Tim muses, he and Cass are holed up in what has become their booth in a small unassuming coffee shop a few blocks from Wayne Tower. Tim chose it as a location for the two of them to meet and catch up a while ago, because the owners were nice and would never sell him out to the paparazzi, and it had become a tradition to come here whenever they wanted to talk (away from the rest of their crazy family).

"It's peaceful. It's nice to use my training, in ways that don't hurt anyone" she replies taking a sip of hot chocolate and pausing to think. "And it's beautiful"

And Tim can see it; Cass with all her instinctual movement and gracefulness would fit in perfectly. And turning all that destructive power and tricks that her father taught her into something else, something beautiful and decidedly not violent would be good for her.

"Maybe we could be room-mates" Tim asks tentatively, after all Cass may want to assert her independence, or she may want to room with Steph who was heading towards her final year.

"Yes" Cass confirms, as if there wasn't ever another alternative, and Tim was silly to even think so.

"Okay" Tim replies, and they fall into an easy silence as they sipped at their steaming beverages. _This could either go really well or really badly_ Tim thinks. _But I guess there's only one way to find out._

The flat is… small, for them at least, and looks like one of the last places anyone would have expected any of the _Wayne_ kids to live in. The kitchen can only comfortably hold one person at a time, the water pressure in the shower needs to be looked at, and the living room… well _cosy_ would be the kindest term. There is however a small room ("Cupboard" Cass keeps insisting) that Tim could feasibly use as a dark room, if he keeps his elbows to himself, and It has two bedrooms and rooftop access. The real selling point though, was the fact that it was just over the road from their coffee shop.

They paid the deposit on the spot.


	2. Chapter 2

Tim would have been ashamed to say that a large factor in his final choice of course was that his classes took place in the afternoons only. Or he would have if he hadn't been happily sleeping the sleep of the dead (no offence Jason) after a long night's patrol. As it was however he was he was enjoying a long morning under the covers, or well he had been before he was unceremoniously dumped on the floor - blankets whipped from beneath him.

He blinked up groggily from the floor to see Cass gazing serenely down at him.

"Up" she said, as if she hadn't already ensured that he was. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but being half asleep and in a pre-coffee state he likely came out with something more along the lines of:

"whgi snonng" If the look Cass was giving him was anything to go by anyway. Luckily Cass was a master of body language, or maybe she just knew Tim far too well, because she seemed to understand anyway.

"Up" she repeated "You promised you would come with me to get new pointe's" Ah Tim remembered now, Cass's previous pointe shoes had met an unfortunate end after they'd been completely drenched with development fluid. Which was _not_ Tim's fault, honestly _why were they even in the darkroom _(okay it was more of a dark-cupboard but shush)_ in the first place? _Regardless of the technicalities however Cass did seem to hold him responsible, thus the -he glanced at the clock and groaned- 8:30am joint shopping trip.

"You have a real evil streak Cass" He moaned, she just smiled sweetly in response "And no one is ever going to believe me"

"I was going to make you coffee but…"

"_Evil_. Oh my God!" Tim laughed running his fingers through his hair teasing out the knots formed in his sleep, he smiled up at Cass. "But you know I love you anyway right?"

"Right" Cass answered "I know"

She turned to leave stepping over piles of books and camera equipment on the way to the door - And okay Tim may have slipped back into his early teen levels of untidiness shut up.

"Up" she said again standing in the doorway. "You get ready, and I'll make coffee"

"Deal" he yawned, as she left. Now all he had to do was find some clean clothes, he glanced around his room in a state of despair. It was at times like this he realized how much he'd taken Alfred for granted.


End file.
